American Idol: More Diamonique than Diamonds

Wouldn't it have been fun to be watching this episode of American Idol with Neil Diamond tonight? If I were him, I would have had a good chuckle over how safe my catalog was. "Ha ha, nice try Archie. Love the flag!" "Oh yeah, that's gold Brooke - you could have been one of the Monkees." "Why don't you change forever in blue jeans to forever in polyester Castro?"

I don't know how deep the contestants were allowed to go into the ND catalog, but most of them stuck to the hits. The lack of deviation from the norm, though, meant for a bust of a night. With the exception of David Cook's performance, I left the show wondering why ND didn't just come out and sing the songs himself.

So we got an hour of diamonique rather than diamonds - cheap imitations of the real thing. At least this should be the end of mentors and the end of decades-old tunes. Maybe next week, we can hear the contestants sing songs in the vein of what they might sing on their own album. Just a thought. Crazy, I know.

What did you think? Who did you love? Who did you hate? Who surprised you the most?

Here are my thoughts:

Songs: Forever in Blue Jeans/September Morn

Rants & Raves: Rough start to "Forever in Blue." Didn't get the feeling Jason was as comfortable in his lower register. Overall, the first song seemed perfunctory. He picked it up a bit for "September Morn" (one of my ND faves). I sensed that he was using the camera more to appeal to his fans at home than he normally does. He must know he's in trouble. Still, I don't feel that Jason's heart is necessarily still in the competition. At this point, he seems more amused by how far he's gotten than determined to win.

I'm Alive/All I Really Need Is You

David C. did the best job of adapting ND to his style. Picking two lesser known tunes helped immensely. "I'm Alive" had a cool rocker vibe to it while "All I Really Need is You" definitely could have been on the radio today. Well done to David C. for combing through the catalog to find some interesting tunes. Now, let's clean up that facial hair before next week's show...

I'm a Believer/I Am I Said

Oh dear. I had flashes of "Here Comes the Sun" when Brooke started "I'm a Believer." Thank goodness she had a guitar to keep her from twirling and flinging her arms around. Still, the song was a mess. It was campy and Brooke seemed to have to constantly remind herself to smile. Overall, awkward and uncomfortable. "I Am I Said" was a vast improvement, however. Brooke belongs behind the piano and should retreat there as often as possible. She connects with her material better through the piano. That's her bread and butter.

Sweet Caroline/America

Vomitville. Total and utter barf. Ick. I hated both of these performances. There was something so grating about David A. singing these well-known Neil Diamond songs in his earnest, smooth voice. It's such a stark contrast to ND's gritty voice that I simply can't accept it. I will give him points for being smart about his choices though. After all, those two songs are more likely to be recognized by his tween voters than any of those the other contestants sang.

Hello Again/Thank the Lord for the Nighttime

Good choices for Syesha. Not sure it will be enough to earn her the votes needed to keep her on the show, but at least she'll go out with a bang. She seemed much more comfortable on the stage tonight and has certainly gained a lot of confidence with last week's success. "Hello Again" was well done - sweet and touching (although perhaps a bit oversung in the middle). "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime" was a great option to show off her big vocals with a turn at gospel. She still has a huge personality-lack to overcome though and these songs were probably not that fantastic to make up for that.

Most likely to go home: Brooke White or Syesha Mercado

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